Without Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin on the ice, the Buffalo Sabres odds of beating the Boston Bruins ranged between slim and none.
Few teams have scored as often as the Buffalo Sabres, who through 60 games have racked up 224 goals, ranking third in the NHL. While it’s an obvious sign in the team is in the right direction, the Blue and Gold have also had more than their fair share of games where their offensive play was nonexistent.
One of the major contributing factors? Their inability to manage the puck. And it was on full display against the Boston Bruins during their loss on Thursday night. The Sabres accounted for 14 giveaways and 24 turnovers, and it doesn’t matter who you are, you probably aren’t going to win many games with those numbers.
What’s worse? It wasn’t like Boston applied constant pressure. Sure, the fast, stingy Bruins definitely challenged and beat the Sabres in the neutral zone as the game wore on, but Buffalo was just careless with the puck on so many fronts.
Buffalo Sabres cannot afford another meltdown vs. Lightning
This week, Buffalo let a winnable game against the Columbus Blue Jackets slip away, before the Bruins embarrassed and outclassed them. Puck mismanagement was a key contributor in both of those losses, and if the Sabres want to stick around in the wild card hunt, they need to get better with puck possession quickly.
And it goes right back to what’s been haunting this team at various points of the season: Overcomplication.
It’s been said so many times. When the Sabres simplify their game and play at their own pace, they’re fine. But when they try to rush things or attempt to move the puck in ways they shouldn’t, their play gets ugly and they wind up playing catch up hockey. In the loss to Columbus, Buffalo played a stellar third period, but it was too late to mount a comeback.
Overall, this team can’t play 20, 30, or even 40 minutes and expect to win. Head coach Don Granato must preach simple play that made them excel offensively so many times this season. If they can remain consistent in that department, then the playoffs aren’t out of the question.
Source: Observations: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s stellar start spoiled in Sabres’ loss by Lance Lysowski, BuffaloNews.com
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